1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a multipurpose tray, and more specifically, to a multipurpose tray where a plurality of types of sheets of paper and the like are loaded and the sheets are supplied to a printer.
2. Description of the Background Art
A printer is provided with a tray called a “multipurpose tray” in addition to a standard tray to accommodate a regular size sheet. The multipurpose tray is utilized when an irregular size sheet that the standard tray cannot accommodate is used or when a sheet is manually fed, and a plurality of types of sheets having different dimensions are loaded thereto.
As a technique related to such a multipurpose tray, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 07-242341 discloses a sheet cassette that can easily align the edge faces of sheets to improve sheet feeding performance and versatility even when a different size sheet is accommodated. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the sheet cassette disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 07-242341.
Referring to FIG. 7, the sheet cassette includes a chassis 218 of the sheet cassette, and a rear edge regulating plate 225 and a width regulating plate 226 that are provided slidably on the surface of chassis 218. On the surface of chassis 218, a first guide groove 220 and a second guide groove 221 that extend in the same track are formed spaced apart from each other. Width regulating plate 226 is provided with first and second positioning pins protruding toward the surface of chassis 218, and the first and second positioning pins fit into first and second guide grooves 220 and 221, respectively. When rear edge regulating plate 225 is moved in a direction Y in FIG. 7, width regulating plate 226 is moved in a direction X in FIG. 7, being guided by first and second guide grooves 220 and 221.
Further, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 04-072255 discloses a sheet feeding device to perform width alignment and preparation of a recording sheet accurately and quickly. Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 62-034534 discloses an extension guide mechanism of a document set stage where a width determining plate and an extension guide are linked to each other. In addition, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-222322 discloses a sheet carrying device which allows smooth and continuous movement of a sheet guide by simple operation and provides high reliability and cost reduction. In the devices disclosed in these publications, a tray which slides in the sheet feeding direction and a member that regulates the width direction of sheets are linked by a rack and pinion structure.
Since the multipurpose tray is used for manual feeding of a sheet and the like, generally, it is configured to have a structure that is normally accommodated inside a printer body and is drawn out of the printer body when used. Accordingly, the multipurpose tray needs to be designed small such that it can be accommodated inside the printer body. However, when the multipurpose tray is made smaller, dimensions of the tray are also made smaller, in which case a sufficient area for holding sheets cannot be ensured. Thus, when a large-size sheet is loaded, the tray cannot support it.
Accordingly, in the devices disclosed in the above publications, in order to handle different size sheets, there are provided a tray that slides in the sheet feeding direction and a member that slides in the sheet width direction to perform width alignment of the sheets. However, when the mechanism disclosed in the publications is provided in the multipurpose tray to ensure a sufficient length of the tray, the tray will be a large and complicated configuration. On the other hand, the devices disclosed in the publications use a configuration in which the tray that slides in the sheet feeding direction and the member performing width alignment of sheets are linked. Thus, it is also important for the multipurpose tray to eliminate complexity of operation to improve usability.